Mental Health–Related Emergency Department Visits Among Children Aged <18 Years During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January 1–October 17, 2020

Published reports suggest that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a negative effect on children&#39;s mental health (1,2). Emergency departments (EDs) are often the first point of care for children experiencing mental health emergencies, particularly when other services are inaccessible or unavailable (3). During March 29-April 25, 2020, when widespread shelter-in-place orders were in effect, ED visits for persons of all ages declined 42% compared with the same period in 2019; during this time, ED visits for injury and non-COVID-19-related diagnoses decreased, while ED visits for psychosocial factors increased (4). To assess changes in mental health-related ED visits among U.S. children aged